Marionette
by Pinned back Wings
Summary: She was raised to be perfect; a doll in a sense. Now she's a figurine, a marionette, and the Ice Queen of Ouran. Could a Club of Silly boys change all of that? Specifically a pair of two devious twins. Hikaru/OC/Kaoru. Mentions of: TAMA/HARU and MORI/HARU
1. Ice Queen

**Marionette**

Chapter one: **Ice Queen**

* * *

><p>The bell had already rung, and a new day of school was about to begin. The students were gossiping, just like any other day, and talking obnoxiously loud. She just sat in her seat, obviously ignoring her ignorant classmates, and looked out the window. Her hands were placed neatly in her lap and her legs crossed prettily. She didn't care what her peers were saying; usually it was about <em>that <em>club that was full of menaces to society. Even thinking about what was going on in _that_ club made her want to cringe in disgust.

How can such high ranked families let their children participate in such an ungodly distraction called a club?

She'd never know.

"Okay class, settle down into your _assigned seats_," he glanced over at the matching boys that flashed their sensei a dazzling smile, "and open to page twenty-three; begin to read as I take role." The elderly man took a seat in the black leather chair that was pulled into an old, oak desk. All the students, grudgingly, opened their books and flipped to the page mentioned by their sensei. It was quiet; she could distinctly hear her table partner breathing with that noisy wheeze.

Today, they were assigned an English essay to read called, _Self Reliance_ by Ralph Waldo Emerson. So far, the wording was complicated to translate and the author seemed like an arrogant weasel.

"Konoe Amaterasu?" She blinked indifferently at her name and raised her hand quietly, "Here sensei." He glanced at her and smiled lightly. Everyone gave her that smile, and she hated it. Her parents were widely known for their booming industry company, and her mother's side quest that she called her 'Modeling Escapade'. She felt bad for the other students that had parents that were wealthier and even wider known. She glanced down at her book once more, flipping through the pages aimlessly.

"Okay class, who'd like to try and translate this section?"

There was a collective sigh that escaped everyone's mouth except for a valiant few, who didn't looked bothered with the question at all.

Amaterasu, after a few moments, rose her hand and stood up from her seat. Her chair made an annoying scrapping sound against the floor, and many of her peers flinched at the noise.

"_Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. _  
><em>Accept the place the divine providence has found for your the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. <em>  
><em>Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. <em>  
><em>And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark<em>." Her translation held no emotion, and her tone was as of a monotone. Everyone looked at her, either impressed or distressed, maybe a mix of both.

"Thank you Miss Konoe, please take a seat." Amaterasu forced a smile at her sensei and seated herself quietly. Her table partner, Ken'Ichi Doi, whispered her a 'that was good' and she didn't take the time to reply back. Her Father had told Amaterasu that the Doi family wasn't an asset for their company, or their family name, and they didn't need to waste their time on befriending them in anyway. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ken'Ichi glance down at his sweaty palms with an embarrassed frown.

"Ne, don't you think Miss. Konoe is cool?" She heard sheltered whispers from behind her. Usually she didn't need to pay attention to what others said about her, but she was truly interested since the one who was speaking was a young girl that had transferred into the class earlier that year.

"Oh, Konoe Amaterasu?"

"Of course." Their hushed whispers became quieter as their sensei handed out a pamphlet for their essay they needed to write.

"In this class we refer to her as the Ice Queen."

"Ne, why?"

"There was an incident during her middle school years that made everyone dislike her."

"What was that?" Several ears were glued to the conversation as the young girl spoke.

"Well, you know Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin?" The other girl shook her head vigorously and said: 'how could I miss the gorgeous twins in our class?', "Well, when we were in our last year of Middle school she totally, out right disrespected them. Called them disgusting, to their faces! and then continued to go on how their family was despicable."

"What? Why? There had to be a reason; she doesn't seem like the kind of person to just say that, and so outlandishly too!" It was a harsh whisper, probably one that surprised the other girl since she stuttered out her next answer.

"They were making fun of her and how emotionlessly she was."

The new girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, "That just makes her an ugly person." Amaterasu shrugged her shoulders although she felt a slight pang in her heart as the words left the girl's mouth. Once the class bell had rung and everyone was leaving the classroom, Amaterasu went up to the girl that called her an 'ugly person'.

"Excuse me," Amaterasu said, her monotone voice seeping out, "May I know your name?" The younger girl spluttered out an answer, embarrassed at being approached by the girl she just called ugly.

"Aso Kou, Amaterasu-san."

Amaterasu put on her fake smile, the one that was sickly sweet that it made most people shutter away.

"You know Kou-san," Amaterasu started, "you shouldn't call other people ugly when you are yourself; putting others down won't make you feel better about yourself." Kou stood there, shocked by what her older classmate just told her. Amaterasu didn't wait for an answer as she left the classroom, carrying her book bag next to her.

Amaterasu forced a smile as she passed her classmates and peers; she needed to make some sort of good impression on the respectable people at the school.

* * *

><p>"Ah! Princess, you brought a friend today! What is your name milady?" The golden blond placed a chaste kiss on the palm of Kou's hand, and her face heated up in embarrassment.<p>

"Aso Kou, Tamaki-senpai."

"When you speak my name is sounds like a hundred silver bells ringing harmonically on the wind!" Tamaki said dramatically as he kneeled in front of her, a certain gleam in his eye.

Kou would've flushed and turned away, but Amaterasu's words rung in her head. Instead, she sat down quietly next to her friend that had introduced her to the club in the first place.

A few hours into the club, Amaterasu's words ate at her, and she gave a sigh of depression; should she apologize to her tomorrow? She didn't mean for her to overhear her and Saya's conversation! It wasn't her fault she was eavesdropping.

"Is something wrong Princess?"

Kou looked up at Tamaki, "No Tamaki-senpai, I'm fine."

"I can see something is bothering you Princess, why don't you tell me?" He grasped her hand tenderly and kissed her hand once again, "I will make it all better, I swear to you."

"It's just something that Konoe-san said..."

Saya's ears perked up at the mention of the Ice Queen, "What did she say?"

"Well, essentially she called me... called me ugly." Saya frowned and the other girls gasped in reaction spouting out 'THAT'S NOT TRUE' and 'YOU'RE SO BEAUTIFUL.'  
>Tamaki grasped her hand tightly and smiled affectionately, "You my Princess are the most beautiful creature that has graced my presence, you all are!" Tamaki said quickly as he handed each one a rose and danced in a tiny circle.<p>

"You all are lovely, beautiful Princesses!"

There were loud shouts of 'KYAA~' and 'YOU'RE SO KIND TAMAKI-SENPAI', almost all of the girl's attentions were on him as he handed out flowers.

The short, brunette boy on the opposite side of the room looked at the twins, "Isn't Konoe-san in our class?"

"Yeah," the twins said in unison, "she's a complete bitch, but don't worry Haruhi, we'll protect you." They both slung their arms over his shoulder and squished him in a side-ways hug.

"Get. Off. Of. Me." Haruhi said patiently, waiting for their arms to leave his shoulders, "Now."

Hikaru smirked and leaned down next to the boy's ear, "Not a chance in Hell Haru-chan."

Kaoru leaned down towards the opposite ear and breathed into it lightly, "Exactly."

"You devilish twins get away from my poor Daughter!" Tamaki cried out, rushing towards Haruhi and bringing him into a hug, "Don't worry Daddy's got you now."

"Is that suppose to make me comfortable? Get off of my Tamaki-senpai." The boy pushed the boy away from him and watched as he slumped into a dark corner and drew circles on the ground.

"My Daughter doesn't love me."

"She hates me."

"She loves those incestuous twins more than her Daddy."

"Shut up Senpai," Haruhi said as she stared back at the twins, "Now why does everyone hate Konoe-san?" The twins told the same old story they told everyone, and of course; what's a story without a few embellishments?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: I'm experimenting with different characters in the Ouran High setting. Hope you enjoyed, and leave a review if you want.


	2. Associating with Pain

**Marionette**

Chapter two: **Associating with Pain**

* * *

><p>Amaterasu walked in the front door of her house and was immediately greeted with the faces of her maids. Tori, a middle-aged American woman, took her bag from her and bowed lowly.<p>

"Did you have a pleasant day at school?" The maid asked as the others scurried around her. Amaterasu made no intention to move, and made no motion to how she felt about the commotion. Glancing over at one of her favorite maids Meilin, an elderly chinese woman that had a knack for tying kimonos, and gave her a strained smile.

"It was great." She easily lied as she ran her fingers through her hair. Tori grasped at her coat and slipped it off her shoulders as Meilin started braiding her black hair into a braid.

"Your Father is waiting for you in the dinning room; another one of your etiquette lessons are today." Amaterasu nodded silently as she closed her eyes. The only comforting thing that she had ever felt was Meilin's fingers running through her hair and massaging her scalp, "I thought it wasn't until next week?"

"Mrs. Suzuki is leaving for America for her husband's funeral this coming week." Amaterasu only shook her head in acknowledgement, but didn't make a notion of apathy or empathy.

"Of course," Amaterasu stated as she clasped her hands in front of her and started to head towards the dinning room, "Are you coming or not?" She snapped, not turning around to glance at her maids. Tori and Meilin both bowed respectively and followed suit.

Once Amaterasu entered the dinning room, she saw the table filled with multiple foods. Some were Japanese, and some were even Romanian dishes that she had eaten before. She sucked in her abdomen after she felt the low rumbling in her stomach. Clutching her stomach lightly, she made her way towards her Father, who was standing next to her etiquette teacher, Emiko Suzuki. Between them was a scale and a perch for her to lay her clothes on.

"Daughter," Her Father greeted her with a slight nod of the head and scanned his eyes over her figure, "you're looking well." Amaterasu curtsied and didn't dare to look him in the eyes.

"Thank you Father. It's a surprise to see you back from Romania early."

He inclined his head only slightly and looked over towards Emiko, "Mrs. Suzuki, I leave my daughter in your capable hands."

"It is my pleasure." Her Father bowed to the both of them and left the room, but not without whispering to his daughter: "you better have not made gained weight, or displeased your Mother in my absence." Amaterasu didn't even flinch at the malice in his words, and when he left the room she began to unbutton her school uniform.

When she had stripped down to her underwear, she stepped towards the scale.

She was naturally skinny, and her skin was even paler underneath her clothes. She was cold as her feet touched the metal.

The digital numbers sprang up on the small screen: 110.

"Your Father will be pleased to know that you've lost five pounds, and are back on track," Mrs. Suzuki said as she marked down the numbers in her journal, "now please get dressed in that kimono over there and we'll begin with the tea ceremony."

* * *

><p>Five hours later, Amaterasu relaxed into a warm bath, watching the steam roll off the water as she seeped her hands through the translucent liquid.<p>

"Miss Konoe, remember we still need to prefect your homework when you're finished; your Father's wishes." Amaterasu didn't reply to her maid's command as she dove her head underneath the water. It was so peaceful; the noise was almost eliminated and her vision was blurred.

When she washed her hair, she did so with the special shampoo that was shipped from Thailand and lathered her body in the raspberry body wash.

Tori entered the bathroom, a fluffy white robe on her arm, and a towel in the other, "Come Miss Konoe, you've been in the tub for thirty minutes and it's already nine o'clock."

When Amaterasu stood up from the water, Tori's face flushed and she turned around, "It isn't very ladylike to be so un-modest Milady." Amaterasu stared at Tori with a deadpanned expression on her face.

"May I have my robe please, Tori-san?"

Not turning around, Tori shifted the robe towards Amaterasu. The high school girl slipped it on with easy and easily tied it together.

"Are you decent now?" Amaterasu brushed past her and sat down on the stool chair that was pulled in front of a full-length mirror. She could hear Tori sigh behind her as she rustled around withe some bed clothes and a clean towel, "What would you do without me Miss Konoe?" Tori pushed the towel down on her hair and started to dry it.

"I've been taught that I haven't had to lift a finger for anyone, even myself. What do you expect of me?" There wasn't a hint of anger or remorse. Tori had flinched back by the sudden reply and recoiled from her drying. There was no further conversation as Tori ran a comb through her Mistress's hair. This part was her favorite, for Tori, because she was able to brush the younger girl's silk like threads and calm down her Mistress.  
>Even if Amaterasu didn't express, openly, how she was feeling; you could always tell by her body language. When she was anxious, she gripped her stomach, and when she was happy, she didn't have to force a smile to grace her face.<p>

However, Amaterasu and happiness never have seemed to mix before.

"Are you done day dreaming Tori-san? I wish to redo my errors on my homework and retire for the night."

"Ah, of course Miss Kotone." Tori set down the brush and walked, sullenly, to get her Mistress's school bag.

Amaterasu looked at herself in the mirror and traced her cheek bones with her finger, "Am I ugly? What does ugly even mean to me?" Her voice was still monotone as she began to look at her face, and then towards her body, and lastly she stared at her painted toes.

"Here is your bag Miss Kotone." Tori said, slightly startling Amaterasu. Her Mistress narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.

"What did I tell you about announcing your presence before you entered my room?"

"I'm sorry Amaterasu-sama, I'll try my best next time."

Amaterasu nodded her head and cleared her throat, "Now onto these errors my Father found?"

* * *

><p>Amaterasu sat in her usual spot, trying hard not to drift off to sleep. She had stayed up until one o'clock this morning fixing errors her Father had found on her homework. Technically, she had finished at eleven o'clock, but her Father wanted to speak to her about her achievements and her errors. He had yelled at her for an hour, and the last hour he literally, sat there and told her how beautiful she looked and how much she looked like her Mother.<p>

Her gaze shifted towards the window besides her, and she dazed suddenly as voices reached the room, and suddenly stopped. When she looked towards the door she noticed it was Kou and her friend from yesterday.

Her friend marched up to Amaterasu and looked her dead in the eye, "Hey before you go around calling people ugly, you should go look in the mirror!" Amaterasu looked indifferent to the ignorant comment.

"Every time you chastise me, or berate me, it just means I've won in the end." She simply stated with a shrug of her shoulders. Kou's friend didn't appreciate this, and slammed her hand down on Amaterasu's desk.

"Look here! Just because you think your better than everyone else doesn't mean you are! You're an ugly bitch that needs to know when to close her disgusting mouth."

Kou's friend went back to the young girl and simply put an arm around her shoulders, "And think twice before calling Kou ugly because she is defiantly prettier than you will ever be! Everyone in school thinks so." The two girl's walked to their seats, which were still behind Amaterasu, and sat down abruptly.

Amaterasu bit her tongue harshly and turned around, this was going to end badly.

"That's funny coming from the Haruna family whore."

Saya's eyes set ablaze as she stood from her seat.

The door of the classroom opened and people piled in.

That's when Saya's hand met Amaterasu's face in angry daze.

The classroom was cold as Amaterasu looked at her classmate in shock; she had never felt pain like this before. The pain swelled in her cheek and had started to throb. Every thing seemed to stop as Amaterasu reached her hand up to her cheek, she flinched away from her own touch. The voices swirled around the two girls, everyone wondering what would happen next.

It was unexpected.

Amaterasu turned around in her seat and looked forward, and not a moment later their sensei walked in.

"What did someone in here die or something?" He cracked the joke, seemingly embarrassed from the quietness.

"Just Amaterasu's dignity." Someone snickered almost enthusiastically. The sudden pang from yesterday was back again, and in full force. It felt like her heart was going to explode from the embarrassment. When she looked up, she caught eyes with the pair of perpetrators; the Hitachiin twins.

**H & K POV**

When we entered the classroom, our arms hung around Haruhi's neck, we watched as Saya Haruna's hand collided with Amaterasu Kotone's face. Everyone behind us froze, and even Haruhi froze at the scene. Saya had tears in her eyes, but they didn't seem real, at least to us. She shrieked something inaudible, and everyone waited for a response from Kotone.

He waited, excited to see if she wound pounce back with that feisty spirit she had. Instead, she turned around and looked down at her desk.

Everyone started to gossip.

"Well that was boring," Hikaru said loudly as he threw his hands up in the air, "I expected something more dramatic from the Ice Queen, or maybe she has melted after all these years."

"Oh, Hikaru, don't be silly; she's still a bitch." Kaoru said sourly and sat down in his seat.

**-End POV-**

Hikaru glanced back at Amaterasu as their sensei walked in. Their sensei was surprisingly young for being a lower grade school teacher, and surprisingly ignorant.

"What did someone die in here or something?" He cracked the lame joke since everything seemed quiet, almost too quiet. Kaoru looked at his brother and leaned over towards Hikaru.

"Just Amaterasu's dignity." He cracked right back, and Hikaru glanced back towards the Kotone girl. Her head abruptly snapped up, and Kaoru's jaw actually dropped down in surprise.

The Ice Queen was _crying_.

A tear slid down from the corner of her cloudy, grey eye. She looked confused for a moment, and then touched her cheek.

She pulled back her hand and rubbed the liquid that she found from her cheek. She scrubbed it away and stood up, "May I go to the nurse sensei?"

He looked confused, but before he could give permission, she had already left.

While she was going down the hallway, towards the nurse's office, more of the liquid seeped from her eyes.

"What did I react like this!" Amaterasu screeched loudly as she turned a surprised turn towards the gardens, "I am supposed to be a lady; not some weak simpleton." More liquid fell from her eyes as she rushed through the Gardens. Then she fell to her knees, grass staining her white stockings.

"And worse of all, I let those incestuous twins see these stupid drops of emotion!" She screamed as she slammed her fists down on the ground. They saw her break, they saw her weak, and now the ball was in their court. And she certainly wouldn't let them win.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Thank you for the great reviews guys, I really wasn't expecting this much to come through! Imagine my surprise when I got home from school had saw I had 19 e-mails; 18 of which were about this story! Thank you once again, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

And don't worry the Hitachiin twins won't fall in love with her, yet, and vise versa. Amaterasu isn't going to be a Mrs. Sue, and the twins won't be OOC. They will still hate each other for at least a good ten chapters before they feel they can be acquaintances haha :-)

-PBW


	3. Two Things

**Marionette**

There were two things that _pissed_ her off in this world. Yes, _pissed_ her off, not mad, but the extreme irritation that bubbled under her skin and crawled into her nervous system before digging it's envious claws into her muscle.

First thing: all these pitiful emotions people, especially commoners, so enjoyed. Love, devotion, joy; the whole kit and caboodle. These emotions only got in the way of furthering ones own interests, and business.

Second thing: those stupid, incestuous twins and their damned bravado. Who did those two think they were? They weren't special, and they certainly were not, absolutely _not_ going to get the advantage over her.  
>Amaterasu splashed water onto her face, the cool confection washing over her face like a cool bandage over her stinging cheek. She had been slapped around, hit, berated by none other than her Father; however, it was another thing to be slapped by <em>filth<em> in a public place, and then proceeding to cry over it. She hated herself for it, the dread washed over her like a tycoon; no doubt the twins wasted no time in spreading the filthy truth.

She clutched the edge of the marble skin, her knuckles turning a fancy shade of white before she clenched her teeth together, grinding them down in agitation. Her Father said it was a disgusting habit, one she'd get rid of if she wanted a proper husband. Then again, she liked feeling the harshness of the ebony grinding down on each other with a foul noise that made her cringe. She had also taken to biting her tongue so fiercely that the iron taste would stay in her mouth for weeks.  
>Anything to get the edge off the pain, the hurt; all these emotions she'd gladly switch off.<p>

The water was running still, the water turned ice as she narrowed her eyes at herself. When she looked into the mirror, all she saw was the average girl with the average body, and a flaming red cheek. Reaching into her school bag, she promptly pulled out a compact mirror that was doubled with blush. She added the make-up on both sides evenly, covering up the oddly attractive blemish.

_Attractive blemish?_ How was a soon-to-be-bruise in any shape or form, attractive? The peasant must've hit her so hard as to cause a momentary lapse in sanity. That had to be it. She was not the girl that found bruises and cuts attractive, especially on her face. Turning off the cold water, she dabbed her face with a clean towelette that was laid out on the small table beside the door. Before throwing the now damp towelette into the hamper, she simply straightened out her uniform (or what she liked to call her 'cage of deathly yellow'), and grabbing her school bag; bracing for impact.

Two hours later, that impact never came, nor did the stares of the perpetually stupid peers. Or the leers from her classmates, they simply ignored her; the only exception being those two unscrupulous twins. Their stares made her feel as if they were undressing her with their eyes, which made her narrow her eyes at them and shift in her seat unconsciously.

When it came for math, the last class for the day, the math professor walked in and everyone changed seats. Everyone except Amaterasu and Ken'Ichi, who was like an unwanted thorn in her side. Distaste was easy for her, the obvious hatred was harder for her, but in this case it was simple; he repulsed her. Oddly, today the twins shifted to the seats behind her, so she could hear their ignorant chattering and fluttering with the girls.

When class started, so did the insistent flicking of small paper chunks at the back of her head, until one successfully landed on her desk. Although she despised the twins with every fiber of her being, she had to give credit to where it was due-one of them had beautiful calligraphy. Her name was in swirls and circles- **Amaterasu Konoe. **

She turned in her chair, giving them a quick once over as they gave their best impression of being innocent and unaware; which wasn't believable at all. She turned right round and poked the wade of paper as if it was a bomb. Ken'Ichi looked at her understandably, and whispered, "can't be that bad right?"

Apparently, he had not seen the commotion, or her crying. She tried her best to snarl at him and promptly told him to shut it without saying a single word, which got a great response from the twins. Their unchecked laughter was one thing, but the snorting was another; really unattractive.  
>She crossed her ankles together and unfolded the intricate looking paper before gaping at what it said.<p>

_You owe us_

_H & K  
><em>

She grabbed a piece of paper from her folder, and sprawled their names in eloquent, girly handwriting with hearts on it. And sarcastically wrote:

_I owe you nothing. Spread your lies, I don't particularly care. In fact, I applaud you in your effort of blackmail; try harder next time lovelies._

_A.K.  
><em>

She twisted in her seat, not caring to see if the professor was looking and flicked the piece of triangularly folded paper back to them; hitting one of the twins, she guessed Kaoru since the hair was parted on the right, but only God knew which was which, in the center of the head. He managed a quick glare before she turned around and began her assignment they had received not moments before._  
><em>

The class, surprisingly, was filled with these short banters via folded, triangular paper.

_You wound us with your harsh, sarcastic words Ama-chan! We could've damaged more than your reputation at school silly mongoose._

_H & K  
><em>

_You have no right to call me Ama-chan, we are not friends; not even acquaintances! Wait, what do you mean?  
><em>

_A.K.  
><em>

_We known some things that have been troubling you at home Ama-chan! Dealing with a certain Father and now mistress? And we feel bad, truly. No one deserves that... but you are no one so we don't have to worry!  
><em>

_H & K  
><em>

Their words stung slightly, but she just glared at the paper with a new found hatred.

_My family affairs are no business of yours! Go ahead and spread your venomous lies, my Father will just pay his attorney to lie for him. And I am every one, and no one at the same time. I am everything and yet nothing. Go figure, right? Find someone else to torture, I've had enough of your stupidity for one eon. _

_A.K.  
><em>

The bell rang at the exact moment she finished the late note, and she slammed the note onto their desks before narrowing her eyes at the two of them, "Leave me the hell alone." Before collecting her things and heading to Library three to check out some books for her World History paper that was due next week.  
>She checked out diaries from women in WWII, which was easily fascinating and most of her peers were doing it on Hitler's rein or the American Revolution, or the natural disasters in Middle Asia. When she scurried out of the Library she was met face to chest with the same people she was avoiding, and hating.<em><br>_

"Hitachiins."

"What a rude greeting for the people that are trying to save you."

"Save me from what?" She tried to push through the two colossal red heads, only to be pushed back against the wall. She shivered, almost hating herself for doing so, as one of the twins mouth was met at her ear.

"Hasn't your Mother ever taught you manners? Or even your Father? Pity." He lifted his head back before turning to the other twin that was cornering her, "such a pretty face is wasted on an ugly girl."

"Oxymoron." Amaterasu said with haste before glaring at the two.

"Nope," one began, popping the the 'p', "it means your pretty face is wasted on someone with an ugly heart." The other ended, a smug grin on his face.

Another pain entered her chest, but didn't let it show.

"Shut up."

"No wonder why your Mother left you; you're such a pain."

"An ugly pain. You're so plain, it's almost horrendous."

"Stop it." Amaterasu said a little louder this time, sucking in her lip and biting it until it bled.

"And then you're Dad. He can't even stand to look at you; you must be a disgrace."

"A terrible disgrace to your family; maybe your Father's mistress can at least teach you to sleep up into a family."

"Like the dirty girl you are." They spoke simultaneously, each giving her a shit-eating grin.  
>No one had ever talked about her, like her family, like this.<p>

"I SAID SHUT UP!" She didn't even noticed the ugly liquid running down her face, the blood trickling from her mouth as she pushed her way between the two, "WHY CAN'T YOU EVER SHUT UP! YOU TALK AND TALK, AND WEAR THOSE SHIT-EATING GRINS; WHY ME? I'VE DONE NOTHING. NOTHING TO YOU AND YET... and yet..." she hiccuped and wiped her running nose on her sleeve, "I hate you."

All three students froze before the female looked up, her cheeks redder and her eyes inflamed, "I hate you!" She screamed, forgetting herself in the spiraling emotions. All these emotions that made her pissed beyond belief.

Now today, she had cried twice in front of the Hitachiins and let her emotions get the better of her. She turned on her heel, completely forgetting her books that were sprawled on the floor, along with her bag. She ran and for the first time in her life, she felt absolutely liberated... and free.

* * *

><p><strong>AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know it might seem like Kaoru and Hikaru are OOC, but they've spent, what, 3 years despising this girl. They teased her till her breaking point, which was close anyways because she's having a break down. Hope you can understand why the Hitachiins' OOCness was necessary! :) Review and Favourite if you want :D or flame, which ever you prefer. <strong>


	4. Sickening

**Marionette-**

The following day Amaterasu was home with a cold she acquired while running home, in the pouring rain... without an umbrella. Seemingly, everything she did yesterday was stupid, or even doltish; she was even berated by her Father because of this. He made little time to say good-bye to her this morning before leaving for work. The maids swept in and out of her room, not daring to look her in the eye.  
>She simply stared at their busy bodies weave in and out of the room as time loomed on.<p>

By afternoon, she was served her usual lunch of chicken broth and celery. Her stomach grumbled in response, obviously hungry for more, but denied herself because she couldn't gain any more weight. So, she pushed back the empty bowl and pull her covers over her head, in a vain attempt to fall asleep. The fever was poking at her brain, obviously, because all she saw when she closed her eyes were the damned twin's shocked faces when she yelled at them (to her embarrassment). Latching her mouth onto the comforter she gave a great tug, tearing at the frilly thing. In a flash she sat up in her bed, reached over to her bedside table and pulled out _A Thousand Splendid Suns_, and had begun to read before a maid promptly took her empty dishes away.

There was intervals of several hours where all Amaterasu could hear was the pitter-pattering of the maid's feet outside her bedroom door, and it un-nerved her to no end. Finally, at a quarter to four, a maid stopped in and after giving a short curtsy, told her equally good, or bad news (depending on how you looked at it).

"Ma'am," the maid said quietly, shaking ever so slightly when Amaterasu's eyes narrowed, and pinpointed on her shallow breathing, "someone from your school as dropped by. They have your school books and today's lecture notes."

Amaterasu calmly straightened out her appearance and hair before nodding, "Tell them to come up, as I'm not feeling well to escort myself to the foyer." The maid simply nodded and added a quiet 'Bless you ma'am', before leaving the cold, empty room. Sometimes the quietness ate at her, and other times it didn't; mostly it was welcomed.

There was a light tapping at the door and Amaterasu called out an invitation.

A boy with mousy brown hair walked in, his big-doed eyes stared at her with an almost nervous twitch, which was over come with a sincere smile, "I thought you'd appreciate these," he set down her bag on her desk before moving over to the bed and handing her the lecture notes, which were scribbled in fine cursive with little smiley faces sprinkled everywhere, "And I've come to apologize."

"For what?" Amaterasu almost snapped, as she flipped through the notes and lazily brought her eyes to meet his, "for this sloppy handwriting?" His handwriting was clearly meant for a girl, it was so neat and intricate, but she couldn't just hand out praise like that? Especially to a scholarship student, who was in _that_ club, with _those_ twins. God, what was this boys name? Harumi? Hiro? Something that started with an H, and oddly ambiguous.

"The twin's behavior yesterday," Amaterasu almost froze with realization, "I saw it; they were clearly bullying you."

Shuffling the notes, and settling them between her legs Amaterasu finally spoke, "You don't need to apologize for them. I'm sure I did something wrong for them to hate me as much as they do. Perhaps it's because I called them disgusting, or was it revolting...? No matter, they're just being the imbeciles they always have been." Amaterasu didn't smile, but in fact grimaced when she realized she was talking to this boy. It was surprising she was talking to a boy at all, given she never did in the first place.

"Why revolting?"

Amaterasu knew why, but couldn't simply tell this commoner what she thought, "It doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done, and the world will slowly churn around them once more; they will always be the starters of a monsoon, and the enders as well. I just simply wait it out."

"Doesn't it becoming tiresome?"

"Of course it does," Amaterasu coughed into her hand before looking back at the boy, "but what other choices do I have? I must be perfect. I must establish neutral bonds with people, even if they hate me they know well enough to respect me. Thus it becomes neutral."

The boy was quiet before speaking again, "you have a strange logic."

Amaterasu's voice trembled ever so slightly since it was the most talking she had ever done in the space of just a few minutes. It was frightening to say the least, well at least to her it was. The boy seemed fine, just standing there smiling as if nothing ever happened between them. The boy was something else, Amaterasu admitted to herself before deciding to place the lecture notes on her nightstand, something she couldn't pinpoint exactly how to counteract to.

"It's a strange, but realistic outlook."

"Or pessimistic."

There were minutes of silence that were filled with nothing but the ticking of the grandfather clock outside of her bedroom. Amaterasu had never had a boy in her room, forgetting about her cousin Jun before he moved to Germany. She nervously picked at her fingers, before deciding to bite down on her lower lip and grind it between her top and bottom teeth. It was a satisfactory feeling.

At least she was feeling at all.

"If you're not feeling better tomorrow, I'll return okay?" The boy smiled once again, walking towards the door, "And I'll work on my handwriting." Without waiting for approval, the boy simply was gone and left Amaterasu to her own devices.

The next day, the boy did return as promised. Amaterasu was snuggled down in the blankets, drifting in and out of consciousness. The boy quietly set down the lecture notes, and made a turn towards the day. Amaterasu looked at the boy, then back to the notes, and opened her mouth.

"I have a question about yesterday's lecture," She croaked out, her voice hoarse from talking to her mother last night, "it's about the English reading list."

The boy simply smiled and answered all her questions, and promised to come back the next day.

Again, he returned. Amaterasu couldn't help but feel her tinted cheeks fluster once more under his doe-eyed gaze. She would never admit it was because she thought the boy extremely cute, my goodness no. She blamed it on her fever, which remained an unhealthy 101.2 F temperature.

The boy came everyday for the next week, until Amaterasu was feeling better. When it came the morning for Amaterasu to go back to school, she actually felt half excited about going. Perhaps she'd finally learn the kind boy's name, and be able to thank him properly.


	5. The Reason Why

**Marionette-**

"Amaterasu," the voice was quiet, an almost bittersweet tone to it, "it's time to wake up _princess_, today I will be personally escorting you to school." Immediately, she recognized the voice: her father. Her eyes shot open as she lifted her torso from the comfort of the bed; her father stood at the foot of it, the scowling creating wrinkles around his eyes. She could tell her face was flush with embarrassment as the rest of her body became frightfully cold. She gracefully rolled out of bed and headed straight to her bathroom, her father's eyes trained on her backside the entire way there.

She shivered.

* * *

><p>The ride to school was quiet, as normal. Today, her father instructed her to paint her face up to hide the "hideous" dark circles that were created around her eyes, and so one of her maids came rushing in to fuss over her while her father waited impatiently. Her face felt so thick that her head felt off center, or perhaps it was just the idea of wearing all that make-up that made her feel that way. Either way, today did not start well.<p>

"Amaterasu," she was startled at her father's words, as she straightened her back up simultaneously before directing her sight on him, "what were you thinking, running home like that in the rain?" Her eyes shifted towards his hands that tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles going a startling white; however, his eyes were never taken off the road, "you had your mother worried sick. She almost came home early from Malian, you realize how devastated she'd be?"

Yes, she'd miss out on all the latest fashion and blatantly blame it on Amaterasu...again.

"Yes, father, I realize my mistake and will atone in the future."

"In which?" Her father pressed, his eyebrows reaching the tops of his eyelids before shifting his eyes over towards her.

"In which I will never leave the school premise on my own, and will always take some sort of motor transportation home."

"Good girl." The whiteness of his knuckles didn't lessen however, but the corner's of his mouth upturned. It was something, and Amaterasu took it despite it all.

Pregnant silence bloomed as the multitudes of houses whizzed by her window, and her eyes became heavy, beckoning her to sleep. She shrugged it off, an ill attempt of course, but it seemed to work for five minutes. Her eyelashes tickled her cheeks before the silence was interrupted yet again by her father.

"We're here."

It was curt and awkward, and before she knew it he had successfully un-buckling her, opened the door, and promptly pushed her out. She held her schoolbag close to her, Haruhi's notes held close to her heart as she watched her father drive off. A feeling did not settle well in her stomach as he turned the opposite way to his work, but it wasn't her business so she struggled it off (metaphorically of course,) and walked to class.

* * *

><p>Amaterasu noticed that five minutes till class started, her peers started trickling in. Most of them did not regard her with even the slightest glance, per usual, until Haruhi stepped in (surprisingly, without the twins in tow.)<p>

"Ah, Amaterasu-san! You're back?" For the second time today, Amaterasu was startled but she dare not look it as she regarded Haruhi with cold eyes, "Are you feeling any better?"

"Quite, that's why I'm here," Amaterasu unclasped her book bag and shuffled out the stack of Haruhi's notes, "I believe these are yours; I do not wish to lose them and stop you from studying." As Amaterasu went to hand them over to Haruhi, he held up a hand and pushed back the notes with a sigh, a smile clear on his face.

"I made two copies, one for you and one for me. You're not hindering me, and it wasn't an obligation; I just wanted to help you catch up is all."

Amaterasu's heart fluttered, and she nearly slapped herself for it.  
>Stupid boy and his equally stupid smile.<p>

"Well thank you nonetheless, I suppose I will keep these then." Amaterasu laid the notes into her bag, the pages never crinkling as she did so. Haruhi looked semi-flustered as he pushed back his hair and then laid down his book bag on top of his table.

"I'm glad your feeling better," he whispered as the door to the classroom opened again, "and I'm still sorry about the twin's behavior." Amaterasu waved off the silly boy with not so much as a smile before she heard the voices she never wanted to hear again, as long as she lived.

"And what is this?"

"Did our precious doll earn a new friend?"

"Our toy nonetheless!"

Amaterasu watched as the twin's arms engulfed Haruhi's frame just before Haruhi's hands balled into fists and wailed onto one of the twin's chests (his hair was parted right, so Hikaru? She was never right, but it was just a guess...)

"Did the precious doll say something to hurt our toy's feelings?" Kaoru looked at Amaterasu with dull eyes before petting Haruhi's hair and pouting. Hikaru did the same thing but his tongue was sticking out, making it slightly more unappealing than his brother's.

"I will thanking him for the notes, nothing more." Amaterasu said, turning her gaze out the window and watched the scurrying figures rushing into the building.

"Then why sound so sad little dolly?" Someone whispered into her ear, making her shutter as she moved away, but her other ear was greeted with an equally as disturbing message: "do you have a crush on our dear toy?"

"Of course not!" Amaterasu yelled, rising from her seat with a heated glare as her heart beat rapidly within her chest, "and even if I did, do you honestly believe I'd openly admit it? Especially to you two?" She tried to keep the heat down from her cheeks, but she could feel it slowly rising from her neck.

"Look at the doll! Her porcelain skin is going..."

"A blaze!" The other finished, a triumph look placed upon his face. He even had the audacity to poke out his tongue and throw a peace sigh out as he crouched on the chair in front of her.

"Why I never heard some poppy cock erupting from someone's mouth as you are doing now! I'll have you kno-"

"Please! Settle down!" The teacher announced, looking a tad over exasperated as he entered the classroom; pointedly looking over at the twins and herself, "class as started and I'll have to ask each and every one of you to refrain from talking out of turn." Giggles erupted from the full classroom, which Amaterasu overlooked when she started conversing with Haruhi & Co.

Amaterasu settled down in her seat, taking note that her table partner was not there.  
>Not that she cared or anything; however, she turned her head and looking out the window at the beautiful blue sky, wishing at that moment she was a bird.<p>

At least then, she could fly away from this place.

Something landed in front of Amaterasu, a folded piece of lined paper with her name written in sloppy print (in which she knew all to well to be Haruhi's) before opening it.

_Sorry -H_

Instead of writing back, she turned her head and looked at Haruhi's sullen face before it was replaced with a nice, refreshing, _fake_ smile. Amaterasu did the same, but less of the nice and refreshing.

* * *

><p>When the end of the day had rolled around, it happened while Amaterasu was packing up her things to leave. It being the fact that Haruhi stopped in front of her, being removed from the twin's sides, and looked quite breathless.<p>

"I was wondering if you'd escort me to the club's room today? You look quite stressed, and I had hoped that you'd-"

"Absolutely not!" Amaterasu suddenly got up from her seat, the chair making a squealing noise as it hurriedly was pushed back, "was this some ploy? Being nice to me? Telling me sweet words? To get me to finally show up to that pitiful club filled with nothing but boys that toy with girls hearts for _fun_?" Amaterasu already felt dirty talking about it, her fingers dug into the palms of her hands as she grabbed her book bag, "I will never go to that room, never. You hear me? Thank you for _pretending_ to be nice and all, but it's been real tiresome and quite a bore; see you tomorrow Fujioka-san."

Amaterasu's feet were faster than her words as she found herself yelling down the hallway, Haruhi quietly trailing after her. Stupid tears stung at her eyes for unknown reasons as she quickly brushed it back, and only stopped when she felt Haruhi's hand on her wrist.

At the momentum at which she was traveling, and the strength in Haruhi's grip on her wrist, her back went flying against Haruhi's chest.

It was soft, and warm. His heart beat steadily, and Amaterasu felt her breathing falling into step with his beating.

"I wasn't pretending, please don't make your hatred turn on me. I want to get to know you better, and I think that you can do with some social contact every once and a while, even if it is from a commoner."

Amaterasu struggled against Haruhi's grasp as Haruhi placed his chin atop of her head.

"I never noticed how short you are." Haruhi whispered, the strength in his grasp fading as he softly spoke, it made Amaterasu's heart flutter again.

Stupid boy, stupid boy, stupid boy!

Amaterasu quickly turned around, poking Haruhi squarely in the chest and narrowed her eyes at him, "stop it! Just stop it! I know what you're doing, you're trying to help the twins seek revenge on me right? Where are the hidden cameras, where I ask? Answer me! This is the last time they'll make a fool out of me! I swear it on my grandmother's grave, the last!"

Haruhi, again, grasped Amaterasu's hand quickly and looked at her strangely, "what do you mean fool again?"

"Oh that's just rich," Amaterasu's voice dripped with venom as she spoke, "they didn't even tell you?"

"No, what happened?"

Amaterasu looked caught between emotions: hurt and anger, the two things she knew all too well.

_Amaterasu stared at the pink envelope down in her hands as she quickly noticed she was shaking. Of course she was shaking, who wouldn't be? She tried to convince herself as she waited patiently at her desk until the bell rung, and the class was quickly dismissed for lunch. She waited of course, just like always, until everyone left and quickly walked over to _his _desk to place the envelope on top of his pencil bag._

_Today was the day, today was the day that she finally confessed her blossoming feelings._

**_Dear Kaoru,_**

**_Please meet me behind building A after school. I have something to tell you._**

**_With regards,_**

**_Konoe Amaterasu _**

_She patiently waited behind the building, thumbing the skirt of her dress before a figure appeared behind one of the columns. It was Kaoru. A relieved breath left her mouth, one she had been holding for a long time. A genuine smile (something rare at the time) reached her lips as she ran forward, grasping his hands in hers as she bowed her head._

_"Kaoru, will you please go out with me?"_

_Silence._

_Oh god, she was too eager; what if he thought she was weird? So many thoughts ran threw her head at the time, almost too many._

_"Would you like me to pass that along to my brother?" Was the snark remark, and Amaterasu grew cold. She looked up into the honey-brown eyes she adored, and swore it was Kaoru, but it wasn't. It was Hikaru, apparently, and a smirk was etched on his features, "I just came along to tell you that my brother wouldn't be making it sense he got injured during gym today."_

_"I'm so sorry." Amaterasu spilled out, her eyes tearing up ever so slightly. No she refused to cry._

_Hikaru's hand reached down to Amaterasu's chin and forced her chin up, "is it really fair? You were going to confess to my brother weren't you?"_

_Amaterasu's face became flush as she tried to avoid his eyes, but his hand caught her and forced her chin once again towards him, "weren't you?"_

_"How is that unfair? They are my feelings." Amaterasu finally answered, looking up at him as his fingers brushed against her lips; a blush falling over her pale cheeks as she resisted and pulled back, but his hand gentle turned her head towards him once again._

_"And what of my feelings?"_

_Frozen, like ice._

_"What?"_

_"I adore you, what about my feelings? It's always been Kaoru, why don't you like me?"_

_"Because, Kaoru is Kaoru and Hikaru is Hikaru! Each of you has your own traits and personalities that I like. You're two different people." Hikaru froze as well before shifting backwards, and then pushing forward; his lips smashed against Amaterasu's. Her eyes widened as she pushed against Hikaru's chest, pounding her fists against it before she got away._

_"You bastard! That was my..."_

_"Your first kiss?" Another voice replied, another body came from behind the column at which Hikaru appeared. _

_"Kaoru?"_

_"What can I say, usually girls like both of us. Hikaru must've been quite jealous."_

_"You... you..." Amaterasu stumbled over her words as fresh tears came to her eyes, which she quickly pushed them back._

_"Don't worry, you should consider yourself lucky," Hikaru said, smirking at himself confidently before bending down to her height, "you should be honored I'd even kiss your unattractive, dull face."_

_"You...YOU ARE REVOLTING. Absolutely disgusting! I hate you, I hate both of you! Never again! HOW COULD YOU TOY WITH SOMEONE'S FEELINGS LIKE THAT?" Amaterasu spit at their feet before turning on your heel, screaming at the top of her lungs: "THE HITACHIIN TWINS ARE DISGUSTING, REVOLTING PERSONALITIES." All the way back to her car, before she busted out in tears._

**Sorry for the long wait! But hey, now you know why she hates them! And why they hate her. (Obviously that was pretty damaging to their images, right? And childish on her part hehehe.)**

**Anyways, enjoy and review!**


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